Cutting out people and objects from screenshots and video frames

Sometimes the image you want to cut out is not a file at all. It is a frame of a video call, a product in a web page, a chart in a slide deck, or a person in a paused video. The quickest path is a screenshot pasted straight into the tool. This guide covers how to capture a usable screenshot, how to paste it, and the limits that come with screenshots.

Paste instead of save

You do not need to save a screenshot as a file first. Copy it to the clipboard, open the PNG creator or the background remover, and press Ctrl+V (Windows, Linux, ChromeOS) or Cmd+V (Mac) anywhere on the page. The image is read straight from the clipboard into the tool, processed on your device, and never uploaded.

How to copy a screenshot to the clipboard:

• Windows: press Windows + Shift + S, select an area; it is copied automatically.
• Mac: press Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4, select an area; holding Ctrl sends it to the clipboard instead of the desktop.
• ChromeOS: press Ctrl + Shift + Show windows, select an area; the screenshot is copied to the clipboard.
• Linux: most desktops copy to the clipboard with Ctrl + Shift + Print Screen, or have a "copy to clipboard" option in the screenshot tool.
• iPhone and Android: take the screenshot as usual, then tap the preview and choose Copy, or save it and pick it from Photos in the tool.

Getting a screenshot good enough to cut out

A screenshot is limited to the pixels on your screen. A person in a small video window might be only 300 pixels tall, which is enough for a slide or a chat sticker but not for print. To get the most out of it:

• Make the subject as large as possible on screen before capturing: maximize the video, zoom the web page, or enter full-screen mode.
• Pause video on a sharp frame. Moving subjects blur in individual frames. Step frame by frame if your player allows (in many web players, the comma and period keys step one frame while paused) to find a crisp one.
• Hide on-screen controls such as play bars, captions, and cursors, which otherwise end up in the cutout.
• Use a high-resolution display if you have one. A screenshot on a Retina or 4K screen contains two to four times as many pixels as on a standard screen.
• Capture only the area you need. A tighter screenshot helps the model focus on the right subject.

What cuts out well from screenshots

• People in video calls or videos, with the usual caveat that hair against a busy background is hard. Virtual backgrounds in video calls often leave a blurry, flickering edge around the person that survives into the screenshot; real backgrounds usually give a cleaner result.
• Products on web pages, especially if the page shows them on a plain background already.
• Icons and illustrations that sit on a solid color.
• Charts and diagrams: the AI looks for a main subject, so a chart with a clear shape on a plain background often works, but complex charts with separated labels can lose parts. Use Select object to keep every piece.

Text-heavy areas, such as a paragraph or a table, do not have a natural "subject" and are better copied as text.

Fixing the result

Screenshots are often compressed (especially from video), which adds blocky artifacts around edges. If the cutout has a rough or blocky edge, try tightening the edge slightly in Settings; if parts of the subject are missing, use Select object to paint over what you want to keep. Fixing halos and rough edges has more detail.

Copyright and privacy

A screenshot does not give you any rights to its content. Some practical boundaries:

• Your own content is fine: your slides, your video calls (with the other participants' consent if you show them), your own products.
• Other people's photos, film frames, and artwork are protected by copyright. Using them in a private presentation or a personal meme may be tolerated or allowed under fair use or similar exceptions in some countries, but commercial use generally requires permission.
• People in screenshots have privacy rights. Cutting someone out of a video call and putting them in a different context can be embarrassing or harmful. Ask first.

The tool processes everything on your device, so the screenshots themselves stay private. What you do with the cutout afterwards is up to you, so use it responsibly.

Summary

To cut something out of a screen, take a tight, sharp screenshot with the subject as large as possible, copy it to the clipboard, and paste it straight into the tool with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. Expect screen resolution, not camera resolution, and respect the rights of whoever owns or appears in the content.